Malcolm Rivera
A constitution is a set of fundamental rules that determine how a country or state is run. Almost all constitutions are “codified”, which means they are written down clearly in a specific document called “the constitution”. Japan's first constitution was the Meiji Constitution, which was proclaimed on 11 February 1889 and came into force on 29 November 1890. It was drafted in secret by a committee including Inoue Kowashi, Kaneko Kentarō, Itō Miyoji and Iwakura Tomomi, along with a number of foreign advisors, in particular the German legal scholars Rudolf von Gneist and Lorenz von Stein.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of creation | 1889 |
| Date of adoption | 1890 |
| Date of enforcement | 1947 |
| Date of surrender of Japan | 1945 |
| Date of new constitution | 1946 |
| Date of new constitution's adoption | 1947 |
| Who created the new constitution | U.S. General Douglas MacArthur |
| Who reviewed and modified the new constitution | Japanese scholars |
| Who directed the creation of the new constitution | Prime Minister Kijūrō Shidehara |
| Who was the head of state | The Emperor of Japan |
| Who was the actual head of government | The Prime Minister |
| Who was on the draft committee | Inoue Kowashi, Kaneko Kentarō, Itō Miyoji, Iwakura Tomomi, Rudolf von Gneist, Lorenz von Stein |
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What You'll Learn
- The Meiji Constitution was Japan's first constitution, enacted in 1889
- The Meiji Constitution provided for a mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy
- The Meiji Constitution was drafted in secret, without public debate
- The Meiji Constitution was based on the German and British models
- The Meiji Constitution was replaced by the MacArthur Constitution in 1947
The Meiji Constitution was Japan's first constitution, enacted in 1889
Following World War II, Japan's current constitution was written in 1946 and adopted in 1947, while Japan was under Allied occupation. The Meiji Constitution of 1887 was identified as a flawed document that had enabled militarists to take control and lead Japan into war. U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, directed Prime Minister Kijūrō Shidehara to draft a new constitution. Shidehara created a committee of Japanese scholars for the task, but MacArthur presented a draft created under his own supervision, which was reviewed and modified by the scholars before its adoption. Also known as the "MacArthur Constitution", "Post-war Constitution" or "Peace Constitution", it is relatively short at 5,000 words, less than a quarter the length of the average national constitution.
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The Meiji Constitution provided for a mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy
A constitution is a document that outlines the fundamental laws of a country. Japan's first constitution, the Meiji Constitution, was proclaimed on 11 February 1889 and came into force on 29 November 1890. It was drafted in secret by a committee of Japanese scholars and foreign advisors, including German legal scholars Rudolf von Gneist and Lorenz von Stein. The Meiji Constitution was enacted after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, and provided for a form of mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy, based on the German and British models.
In theory, the Emperor of Japan governed the empire with the advice of his ministers, but in practice, the Emperor was head of state while the Prime Minister was the actual head of government. The Meiji Constitution established an independent judiciary and the first parliamentary system in Asia. It was the fundamental law of the Empire of Japan, and remained in force until 2 May 1947.
Following Japan's surrender at the end of World War II in 1945, the country was occupied by Allied forces. U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, directed Prime Minister Kijūrō Shidehara to draft a new constitution. A committee of Japanese scholars reviewed and modified MacArthur's draft, which was adopted in 1947. This new constitution is also known as the "MacArthur Constitution" or "Peace Constitution".
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The Meiji Constitution was drafted in secret, without public debate
A constitution is a document that outlines the fundamental policies of a government. Japan's first constitution was the Meiji Constitution, which was enacted after the Meiji Restoration in 1868. It provided for a form of mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy, based on the German and British models. The Meiji Constitution was drafted in secret by a committee that included Inoue Kowashi, Kaneko Kentarō, Itō Miyoji and Iwakura Tomomi, along with a number of foreign advisors, including the German legal scholars Rudolf von Gneist and Lorenz von Stein. The central issue was the balance between sovereignty vested in the person of the Emperor, and an elected representative legislature with powers that would limit or restrict the sovereign's power.
The Meiji Constitution was drafted without public debate. The final version was submitted to Emperor Meiji in April 1888 and was promulgated on 11 February 1889, the anniversary of the National Foundation Day of Japan in 660 BC. The constitution came into effect on 29 November 1890. The first National Diet of Japan, a new representative assembly, convened on the day the Meiji Constitution came into force.
The Meiji Constitution was replaced by a new constitution in 1947, following Japan's surrender in World War II and subsequent occupation by Allied forces. The new constitution was drafted under the supervision of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, and was reviewed and modified by a committee of Japanese scholars before its adoption.
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The Meiji Constitution was based on the German and British models
Japan's first constitution, the Meiji Constitution, was proclaimed on 11 February 1889 and came into force on 29 November 1890. It was enacted after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, which restored direct political power to the emperor for the first time in over a millennium. The Meiji Constitution was based on the German and British models, providing for a form of mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy. The emperor was the head of state, but the prime minister was the actual head of government. The Meiji Constitution was drafted in secret by a committee that included Japanese and foreign advisors, including the German legal scholars Rudolf von Gneist and Lorenz von Stein. The central issue was the balance between sovereignty vested in the person of the emperor and an elected representative legislature with powers that would limit or restrict the power of the sovereign. The Meiji Oligarchs, who were conservative and viewed democracy and republicanism with suspicion, rejected the US Constitution as too liberal and the British system as giving too much power to Parliament. Instead, they chose the constitution of Imperial Germany (Prussia) as a model, as it allowed the emperor to retain considerable political power over foreign policy and diplomacy, which was shared with an elected Imperial Diet. The Meiji Constitution remained in force until 2 May 1947, when a new constitution was adopted while Japan was under Allied occupation following World War II.
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The Meiji Constitution was replaced by the MacArthur Constitution in 1947
A constitution is a document that sets out the principles of a country's government. Japan's first constitution, the Meiji Constitution, was drafted in secret by a committee of Japanese scholars, including Inoue Kowashi, Kaneko Kentarō, Itō Miyoji and Iwakura Tomomi, along with a number of foreign advisors, in particular the German legal scholars Rudolf von Gneist and Lorenz von Stein. The Meiji Constitution was enacted after the Meiji Restoration in 1868 and came into force in 1890, providing for a form of mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy, based jointly on the German and British models.
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